A couple of days ago, I saw a stream of the usual DJ negativity directed at the Boiler Room for daring to host iPhone DJ — quite literally a DJ surrounded by punters in true Boiler Room style, using just an iPhone running Algoriddim’s djay app.
Oh the horror and consternation. How could our hallowed art be reduced to this — it’s not real DJing etc etc. You can imagine how the assorted social threads read, because I’m sure a number of you probably commented, and are furiously typing knee-jerk responses to this post based entirely on the headline alone.
But stop — disengage caps lock, and push away from the keyboard. Now watch the video again.
As DJs, we can agree that the spectacle of a DJ using just a phone jars our sensibilities a little. Checking email? Instagramming? I get it. Two hands gripping a rectangle for an hour doesn’t make for the most engaging of on stage under the spotlight performances.
As DJs, we can equally agree that the set wasn’t up to normal Boiler Room standards. It’s not that iOS DJ software doesn’t have the tools to pull off technical sets — it really does, and is a heap of fun too. The skills however are down to the DJ. You can’t download those.
As DJs, we’re by far the worst people to judge other DJs. We’re more focussed on their gear and their skills than their end results. We’ll always find a reason to fault the DJ we’re watching, especially if they don’t quite align with what we do.
But as DJs, I cannot help but feel that the bigger picture is being missed in this video, or most likely wilfully ignored because hate is an easy emotion to express, and often bypasses critical thought. If you stop focussing your disdain for iPhone DJ for a moment, I hope that you’ll see what I’m talking about.
HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
If you look away from iPhone DJ and his allegedly not-at-all-real-DJing iPhone for a second, and glance around at the rest of the room, you should notice something. Do you see?
For those that are missing the obvious — there’s a room full of people dancing. And everyone there knows what gear is being used — his name is literally iPhone DJ, standing on a stage under spotlights holding an iPhone. There’s nowhere to hide. And yet the floor is full. Must be fake or CGI right?
You see, in our DJ bubble where our music, our gear, and our technique is all that matters, it’s easy to forget why we do this. You may focus on gear, but if you haven’t got a crowd of people dancing in front of you, then you’re rather missing the point of DJing. And no amount of vinyl, terabytes of music, or piles of expensive technology is going to change the fact that you are there to make the crowd dance.
It also strikes me that had the Boiler Room existed back when CDJ-1000s were invented, the first DJ to use them in a set would have got just as much hate as iPhone DJ is now, as would each successive user of new tech too.
The uncomfortable truth that many need to face is this — using an iPhone utilises EXACTLY the same skills necessary to fill a floor as any other technology. You watch your crowd, see what music is working, pick the right tracks, mix them at the right point for the right length of time, with the right EQ and effects, and a liberal sprinkling of loops and sample thrown in for good measure — and repeat to keep the floor full. This is DJing 101 — the gear is interchangeable in this equation.
These are the skills that will transcend all iterations, evolutions, and revolutions of tech. The human element is and will always be key, and is more important than any mass-produced box of future landfill when becoming a successful DJ.
So if you think the crowd is dancing because you’ve using a particular lump of hardware, or keeping it real with vinyl only, then this video will give you insight into how flawed that assumption can be. An empty dance floor is just as achievable no matter what setup is in front of you.
SUMMING UP
To me, this video shows two things:
- The dance floor doesn’t always care about technically nailed sets.
- The same dance floor cares less about the gear you’re using than you care to think they do.
My takeaway — real DJs make people dance by any means necessary. You don’t have to like the way that they do it, but this decades-deep melting pot of digital DJ gear that fills floors all over the world every day of the week is proof that anything goes and can work. It’s also proof that the bar for entry is much lower than it ever was too.
With a DJ setup in your pocket, and the biggest library of music in the world being just one Spotify account away, DJs are going to have to accept that times have changed to the point where every single person on that dance floor has the opportunity to have exactly the same setup in their pocket as iPhone DJ. Our role as curator of music and breaker of the hottest tunes has changed thanks to the digital age too, and the dance floor may well have all that music that you’re playing to them anyway. DJs must adapt to this change, because hammering “it’s not real DJing” into a comments box isn’t going to change a damned thing.
Ultimately use what works for you and your crowd, but always keep the floor full, because that’s what DJing is all about. Using vinyl doesn’t make you a DJ, nor does having a full CDJ setup or the latest Serato DJ Pro controller either. Rocking the latest, greatest, and most expensive setup doesn’t matter at all if you can’t get people on the floor.
THE BOTTOM LINE
If you still choose to judge a DJ, don’t do it by the gear they use — judge them solely on their ability to make people dance, because that is the fundamental function and measure of being a DJ.
A while ago (well, over 10 years, I think I read about it on MySpace), Fatboy Slim played a set and one of his turntables broke down. (See how long ago this was? He still played vinyl back then!) Apparently it was a shitty club and they didn’t have any replacements. So he played with one turntable. No mixing, long gaps between each track because he had to change the record, but everybody still loved it.
That’s DJing in a nutshell. Play good music and everything is great. With or without mixing or “real” equipment.
I thought he snapped. I used to mess with those iPhone apps but had to stop because I couldn’t fit all my music on my phone and couldn’t replicate my compatible track search workflow that is my ultimate crutch in Virtual DJ. Oh, been mixing since I did my first school dance in 7th grade in 1988. My knock is that he isn’t pre-cueing that I can tell and that’s not hard to do with some of the DJ iPhone soundcards. That’s the only gripe I have. Like others have said, if you’re picking songs and people are dancing, you’re DJing. Gear is wack anyway.
I never claim to be a good DJ but to me, DJ’ing is about the image as much as it is about skills. Being professional about it means you are in serious business, properly conduct yourself, and using the proper equipment to show your skills. But that is just me. I have used iPhone and a DJ App before but it was as a backup to my failed controller.
So, what’s the difference from a DJ playing a prerecorded set from his home setup and just standing on the decks, dancing around? Isn’t the crowd dancing? Do they care if it’s prerecorded? I guess not.
Justifying this iPhone set is the same as justifying Paris Hilton DJing. If you look at it from a crowd perspective, both are legit.
But we’re not the crowd, we are the DJs. And from the DJ point of view, this iPhone set is wack. Not bad, just wack.
Your first point is just someone listening to a mixtape at home, and isn’t relevant to this discussion.
Side note — apparently Paris Hilton can put out decent sets now.
Your other point — this is why I say “as DJs” repeatedly. Does it matter if we think it’s wack? Do you feel that the crowd gives a crap if other DJs think it’s wack? Does iPhone DJ who is playing a set in the Boiler Room and getting global attention gives a rat’s arse if other DJs think it’s wack?
As DJs, we’re generally agreed that it’s a poor performance, both visually and technically. My followup is “but as a DJ he made the crowd dance, and that’s what DJs are supposed to do right?”. What’s the response to that?
He didn´t make the crowd dance, the music did. Replace him with an automated playlist/pre-recorded basic mix and the crowd will dance the same way, also don´t forget the crowd knows they´re being filmed for youtube, this gives them insentive to show off more.
Apart from that those Afro beats is the only thing that bothered me about it, it shows the state of music today is a joke.
There wasn´t 1 sec of true funk in the whole set..
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My first point is about any DJ playing in a gig with a prerecorded set, not about someone listening to mixtapes.
As for what a DJ is supposed to do, for me he shouldn’t be nor look wack. And that includes a lot of stuff, among which is def equipment used.
This dude is wack and we’re just gloryfying his bullshit.
I’ve misunderstood your first point. I stand corrected. Indeed, playing a prerecorded set isn’t DJing, in the same way that miming to a DAT isn’t singing.
For the record, I’m not glorifying his set (I state it’s poor by Boiler Room standards) — I’m just using it as a clear and topical example of how a set derided as fake DJing and generally weak by other DJs is apparently quite acceptable to the crowd. The entire point of the article is how we DJs might view other DJs in a particular way, but it’s only what the crowd thinks that counts.
Let me ask you a question — you’re playing out at a Hip Hop gig. The crowd loves the vibe and your short flourishes of juggles and scratches. But there’s a few say Techno DJs there who won’t dance. They come up to you and tell you to just play the track and stop with all that wikki wikki shit because it’s not real DJing.
What matters — the full dance floor loving what you’re doing, or a few DJs who will never like what you do?
I agree completely. enough is enough with the bullshit. we all need to get back to being honest, instead of phony nice.
He’s delivering a better set than lots of ‘DJs’ with full club setup over-using fx and “touching-all-the-knobs” can do…
I’m pretty confortable to mix with ‘toyish’ controllers today, because it works, and you can really make a better party when you’re sure that it will be easy to navigate into your library, find the best songs, make perfect phrase mixing because of the nice overviews, add samples synchronised or Ableton Link things…
Why using so much technology ? because I’m a geek, I love NEW things, new ways to mix, and new ways to share my love of the music to the audience.
No one cares about the gear you use, only the jealous other DJs that are not on stage, and want your spot.
#troll comment : Djay should add a button “mute the MC”.
There is zero jealousy about people using controllers, i would be jealous if i saw a real DJ rocking a crowd on 2 Technics and a basic mixer then i will think god i wish that was me. But seeing a geek play simple club tunes on a controller it will make me want to forget about DJing and move on to more important things in life like my gf.
Technology killed the DJ and made way for people like you who think they are doing something special.
Hopefully your music isnt as lame as those Afro Beats.
I think the problem is never the one person doing something, it is the people that do it and ruin it for everyone.
The tradition of the DJ has been twisted to good and bad. I don’t see the “Phone sets” as being a positive path to evolve. Unless it becomes a monitored game or challenge.
That said, I have had fun with apps and it isn’t as easy as it looks. Some people can rock a crowd with sticks and buckets though, I am thoroughly amazed.
I think a lot of us just have problems separating our personal enjoyment of a DJ set from that of the crowd, as you touch on. On the one hand, I don’t find the idea of someone who’s just staring at their phone and fiddling with their thumbs all that interesting from a techincal perspective, but I can respect that they’re still exercising the fundamentals of mixing, and I can appreciate they’re doing so for the fun of being unconventional. But you’re right, people are there to dance and enjoy good music, and as long as you’re using your tools with enthusiasm and facilitating a fun night, rock the fuck on.
The reason why so many people are so angry is probably because Boiler Room is considered to be one of the channels where both DJ-ing culture and cratediggers/selectors are spotlighted. And not so much the channel for wedding party DJ’s or your regular clubnight with the same generic trap & r&b that you can hear in every city throughout the world.
Touching the crossfader for no reason and with no effect only adds to the impression that he feels uncertain himself about this style of DJ-ing.
That being said, I don’t have problems with DJ-sets that have no proper blending in sight, no EQ-ing to make tracks match, no scratching, … in short : none of the technical aspects a lot of people associate with DJ-ing. It’s a DJ style that goes back to the roots of DJ-ing : playing one track after the other, in it’s purest form even with just one turntable and silence in between tunes.
My two main issues are :
– selection : those tunes didn’t do anything for me (but that’s purely subjective and the people in the video are having a good time)
– sound quality : streaming heavily compressed audio from a phone into a Pioneer mixer isn’t my idea of decent sound. I swear by either vinyl and or WAV/AIFF played through a Rodec 180 or any other decent mixer with plenty of headroom.
Bro, Boiler Room will put anybody on. While there are many great sets, there are probably 5 times as many trash sets as good ones. I try not to judge so I won’t try to guess how many of those unknown trash DJs get featured but Boiler Room is to DJ culture what blast fishing is to angling.
Mate, they had a bloke wearing a mask with a penis nose. Credibility within the DJ community has never been Boiler Room.
And I’ll repeat what I say every time the “sound quality” argument comes up… I would be willing to lay down money on the fact that there are dozens of other bottlenecks in the audio chain at a club causing bigger sound quality problems than playing MP3s.
I’d rather send a great signal with proper dynamics and resolution through a club’s audio chain, than to start with a shit signal …
I’m not saying start with a shit signal. I’m saying that 320kbps MP3 is more than plenty for 99% of environments.
When I was out in clubs more regularly in my youth (ahem!) than I am now it was always to hear some good tunes and have a bit of a dance. We didn’t face the dj box or anything, unless it was a scratching deal, so more along the ‘performance DJ’ lines.
So the whole thing about ‘not being entertained’ going to a club with someone using an iphone or anything else just seems crazy. A DJ isn’t a band. I’m not one for festival DJing but you couldn’t even see what kit someone that distant to you is using either so to not feel entertained because of what they are using…… are people going to clubs just to stand and stare at the DJ? Boring enough for other DJs let alone the general punters!
Use a Walkman and leave a gap between tunes if you like, as long as the tunes are good and the folks there are in to it then nothing else is important, I reckon.
:)
From a DJ’s perspective, I would not want to see that in a club on a regular basis.
I know, all that matters is a dancing crowd.
Does look retarded to me, though.
People looking at their phones all the time is a bad habit at least, if not almost a disease of these times.
Probably doesn’t matter if the DJ does it too then.
We can definitely agree that we wouldn’t pay a premium to see a specific VIP DJ (rather than just entrance into a gig) and have them stand there with an iPhone. I mean… how do you heart hands with an iPhone in your hands? I PAID TO SEE THE HEART HANDS DAMN IT.
I’m not saying that I want fist pumping or heart hands :D
That is kinda retarded, too.
Can’t really explain what I dislike. Probably it’s not about the DJ but the constant staring at a phone…
Like I said, a dancing crowd matters, the medium doesn’t
If he’s using Spotify though, is he legally entitled to be playing that music in public? Spotify’s T&Cs say it’s for personal use only.
Who cares if it’s legal? Unless you’re headlining a festival, nobody is making enough money to bother with. Legal or not, if you select dope songs from Spotify in a program like djay, and you set the streaming rate to high quality, the songs sound great and you are promoting good music. DJs are music curators and, indirectly, music promoters. I can’t tell you how many songs I’ve bought after hearing them in a set… Unless you’re producing and playing your own tracks, you’re in the promotion business.
Hmmm….let me see. People who abide by the law. We all should care. You should care.
Point of order: There is no law against public performance using music streamed from Spotify, Tidal, etc. It is not illegal to do so, and you are not failing to “abide by the law” if you do.
It is, perhaps, a violation of the company’s ToS, and could potentially lead to the termination of your account with them — that is the full extent of penalties the service can impose. If, that is, their restriction is actually legal, because there are many localities which prohibit certain types of restrictions from being imposed in warrantees or service contracts.
But even if the restriction is legally permissible, you break no law by violating it. It’s not even computer crime, if you’re accessing the service via a registered user account — there’s no piracy happening, you haven’t accessed anything without authorization, you haven’t circumvented any protections. Anyone hoping that their public thumbing-of-the-nose at Spotify’s Terms is going to earn them a pair of shiny new bracelets will just have to find some other way to get arrested.
I didn’t say there was a law against using Spotify in public. What I’m saying is that “law abiding” people (which we should all be) should be aware of, and adhere to, any T&Cs.
It doesn’t do working DJs (presumably “professionals”) any favours by flouting things like this. Potentially an employer could chuck you out on your ear to keep their nose clean.
I’d be willing to bet that there are very few people reading this that are 100% legal with their digital music collection, streamed or otherwise. So it’s a point that stands for a lot of people.
I’ve played on those apps a bit as well as a few long flights in Serato practice mode, and honestly it’s tricky as anything to pull off smooth mixes that would be easy on “traditional” gear. You have tiny buttons and no tactile interface as well as limited controls. If anyone can rock a no-compromises set on a phone, they have skills that many working DJs don’t. – Soba
This is the god’s honest truth. I used to mess with those apps but could only pull off smooth mixes when I was really dialed in with my timing because I was gigging every weekend on a controller+laptop setup. Once I stopped gigging (and practicing), I had to leave the apps alone and go back to my old reliable bedroom setup.
Hello stranger. :)
Still lurking!
With you 100% Mark. The gear is just there to do the job. It’s what you do with it that counts.
While you’re right – rocking a set is all that matters – it is hard to be entertained by a DJ using a phone as his/her gear. It’s just too easy to simply playback a pre-recorded set and act like it’s a live set. I suppose that I’m saying that I want to see some skills being used during a set… not just hear them. Said differently, I think that showmanship should be equal to the audio that entertains the crowd.
It rather depends on the crowd and their needs. And you’re probably speaking more as a DJ than a mere mortal. When weddings are “DJed” by iPod playlists on shuffle, that gives you an example of what people not just willing to accept, but are actually happy with.
It’s also easy to mime to a prerecorded set on any gear bar all vinyl. I’d be more upset to find out that a DJ pressed play on their Nexus2 setup than a DJ trainwreck using their iPhone. One is honest, the other is not. I can get behind the DJ at least trying.
We had several Spotify playlists for our wedding and nobody gave a shit.
Had that at our wedding, too.
Same experience. No one cared.
Yeah. This is probably the truth. But still… just standing there holding a phone or tablet or laptop? I suppose it works if the tracks picked are keeping the dancefloor packed… BUT STILL!!!
Well you try standing there with a pair of 1200s and a xone 92 round your neck then. Yeah – not so clever now huh? ;)
I think I was just pwned. Yes. I know what that feels like and it feels just like this. Definitely pwned.
Starting out on belt driven turntables one of which didn’t even had a pitch control I couldn’t care less about what hardware is used. Algoriddim’s djay on iOS (with the aid of a Native Instruments Audio2MK2 interface) has been my backup for years and saved me more than once. It’s also a very capable ad hoc party system for those times the host asks you to live up the party.
I appreciate the fact that these lesser known (which is not equivalent to less useful) DJ apps now seem to pick up some much deserved steam.
Having said all that, the app I’m a bit known for: the DJ Conversion Utility (DJCU) started out under the name djay Conversion Utility. That is why I developed it in the first place: to convert from Traktor to djay.
Conversion to djay (yes including the iOS version) is still part of DJCU, but you can now convert from Traktor, Serato, Virtual DJ, and Rekordbox to djay.
That was my set up for many a cross country plane ride.
We need a Windows version!! (not to derail the thread).
Sorry Louis, there is never going to be a version that runs on Windows, simply because I lack the knowledge to support Windows the way I can support MacOS.
The latest version of DJCU can convert from Windows (Traktor/Serato/Virtual DJ) collections to Rekordbox Windows. DJCU itself requires MacOS to run.
Back to the subject…
The medium is not the message.
Took me a while to realize this as well. As much as a feel I perform my best when using CDJs, I could run Serato in double deck mode and have a great gig. I rarely use my CDJs for gigs anymore, I just grab my controller.
This DJ set is a bit too ADHD for my liking. Sounds like someone scrolling through their fave youtube music, too impatient to let the songs play out long enough. But as long as the crowd likes it, its good. Prefer the harder afro stuff myself.
He was using an iPhone? 0 fax given bro
DVS, Serato, Controllers, Phase….fine. But you know what? $%&* iPhone DJ’s. We have become a politically correct matrix where we have to accept “everything” and god forbid you’re against something. Next thing you know is smart watch dj’s, keychain dj’s, nintendo switch dj’s and when does it end?
Cast your mind back less than 20 years. CDJs were demonised as fake DJing. Now they’re a industry standard. The same happened with DVS. Controllers still get a hard time from some, but they still dominate and will continue to grow. iPhone DJing will grow and be popular for some, and people will dance if they’re happy. It won’t replace other forms, but as long as you can select tracks and mix them well enough to make a crowd dance, does it matter?
I’m going to clarify my point again – you can be against whatever DJ technology you like. But to dismiss it as not real DJing when there’s a full floor dancing to it demonstrates that it is real DJing. The crowd has legitimised it. Yes, they must be choosing tracks, and doing all the things that good DJs do. But iPhone DJ could have all manner of gear in front of him, and still play exactly the same tracks in exactly the same way. So that makes him a DJ more some than using his iPhone?
Where does it end? When people stop dancing to what the DJ is using, not when other DJs say so.
As for Phase – well that’s an interesting spanner in the thought works. You might be using a turntable, but you’re not using vinyl or needles. Is that real DJing? Of course it is, because the same skills are being used – picking the right tracks for the crowd, mixing them at the right time, with the right EQ, effects, loops, etc etc etc.
I personally don’t see anything wrong with djing directly from a tablet/phone, laptop or whatever you choose to use as the vehicle for your music. Just make sure you are capable of getting the job done. People are going to hate because that’s what they do. But their will be some that will be supportive too.
to be fair. one of the best djs in the world. been around since the late 80s. was on the BR. he was using a allen and health mixer somehow controlling traktor. no jogs or decks. and it was a miserable set. he obv was struggling with the new fangled tech. but DID champion the use of cdjs back in the day. when people who SWORE the would never switch from vinyl. (all who now of course did). point is. its about the music and the journey it takes you on. and BR at least in germany does not just take “anyone”. to americans it may seem that way. but i agree there are so many BRs now. i stopped trying to keep up. Mr.G didnt use decks. and that to me was on of the best BRs ever.
as far as this mix. this isnt the kind of hiphop i like. but then again im 45. but fair play